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The Clean Air Act (CAA), last amended in 1990,
established a framework for air quality planning throughout
the United States. The CAA requires the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to set national air quality standards
to limit exposure to pollutants that can harm public health
and our environment. The air in the metropolitan Washington
region meets the federal air quality standards for five of the
six regulated pollutants. However, on some days in the summer,
the concentration of ground-level
ozone in our region’s air exceeds the federal one-hour
ozone standard and our region is classified as an ozone nonattainment
area. To understand more about ozone and its effects visits
the Health Department Web page.
Under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
(CAAA), each state submits a State Implementation Plan (SIP)
as the primary tool for determining how and when a region will
attain air quality standards. During the SIP process, a region
identifies emission sources that contribute to nonattainment,
then determines the amount of emissions that must be reduced
to reach attainment and selects emission reduction measures/controls
most appropriate for the area. Air quality nonattainment regions
that are multi-jurisdictional must develop coordinated SIPs
for submission by their respective states.
In Metropolitan Washington, the governors of Maryland and Virginia
and the mayor of Washington, DC have certified the Metropolitan
Washington Air Quality Committee (MWAQC) as the authority to
develop a coordinated SIP for the region. MWAQC membership includes
representatives from the states and the District, as well as
nearly 20 cities and counties in Virginia and Maryland. The
states and the District then individually submit the same coordinated
SIP to the EPA for approval.
In 1992, the EPA classified the Metropolitan
Washington region as “serious” for non-attainment
of the federal one-hour ground-level ozone standard in accordance
with the CAAA. The Act required the states of Maryland and Virginia
and the District of Columbia to prepare a coordinated SIP for
submission to the EPA explaining how the region would reduce
emissions that contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone
by 15 percent from 1990-1996 and by three percent per year thereafter
until the region reached attainment of the federal standard
(This demonstration is commonly referred to as a rate-of-progress
(ROP)).
The Washington region did not meet the attainment deadline of
November 1999. After legal action by the Sierra Club, in January
2003 the EPA reclassified the Washington region to “severe”
nonattainment. Under the new classification, the CAAA requires
the region to develop a SIP that meets more stringent requirements
and to attain the federal standard by November 2005. In addition,
the region must adopt a contingency plan for the 1999 ROP demonstration,
submit an updated attainment demonstration that reflects revised
motor vehicle emissions budgets, demonstrate a three percent
per year ROP from 1999-2002 and from 2002-2005, adopt contingency
measures in case of failure to achieve ROP or attainment as
required, and submit an analysis of Reasonably Available Control
Measures (RACM). A RACM analysis ensures that the region is
implementing all reasonable measures to achieve attainment of
the federal standard on the earliest date possible. The SIP
also establishes emissions budgets for the mobile, point, area
and non-road sectors. In addition, state and local governments,
as applicable, must commit to the control and contingency measures
before MWAQC can adopt the final SIP.
Beginning in the fall of 2002, MWAQC identified
both control and contingency measures to fulfill all planning
requirements of the CAAA. MWAQC’s schedule was developed
to ensure that the region’s federal transportation program
authority would not lapse.
In 1991, the Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act (ISTEA) incorporated the CAAA requirements into
transportation policy. As a result, the Transportation Planning
Board (TPB), as the local Metropolitan Planning Organization,
is required to perform an air quality analysis on the annual
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) (short range transportation
plan) and the fiscally Constrained Long Range (transportation)
Plan (CLRP) to ensure that the region stays within the mobile
sector budgets established in the region’s SIP (this analysis
is commonly referred to as air quality conformity). The U.S.
Department of Transportation requires each region to submit
a TIP and CLRP as a prerequisite to receiving federal transportation
funds.
In May 2003, MWAQC released a draft Severe
Area SIP for the Washington region for public comment. The draft
SIP underwent public hearings in July 2003. During the public
comment period, EPA stated that the contingency measures MWAQC
had identified relied too heavily on Memorandums of Understanding
(MOUs) from local governments and private industry, and were
not sufficiently enforceable. EPA indicated that approvable
contingency measures should take the form of regulations or
legislation to ensure additional emissions reductions will occur
if needed.
MWAQC adopted a revised SIP without contingency
measures on August 13, 2003. (Submittal of contingency measures
is not required for EPA to find the mobile emissions budget
adequate, and transportation planning timelines require an approved
mobile budget earlier than the CAAA requires the complete SIP.)
The EPA received SIP submissions in early September and began
the 30-day public comment period on the SIP on September 10,
2003.
While MWAQC was developing a new SIP, the TPB, Virginia, Maryland,
the District of Columbia and the other local jurisdictions,
including Fairfax County, prepared a new TIP and CLRP. The TIP
and CLRP contain a list of proposed projects to be built between
now and 2030. A draft list of projects was approved by the TPB
for modeling purposes on May 21, 2003. This draft inventory
of projects was used to determine the emissions that will be
generated by the mobile sector in several survey years (including
2005, 2015, 2025). This analysis concluded that the transportation
project inventory contained in the draft TIP and CLRP will generate
a level of emissions below the mobile budget MWAQC set forward
in the SIP.
In December 2003, the EPA determined that
the mobile emissions budgets in the SIP of September 2003 are
adequate. TPB submitted the new TIP and CLRP to the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration
(FTA) in mid December 2003. The FHWA and the FTA approved this
TIP and CLRP on February 23, 2004.
MWAQC completed, and the states and
District submitted, the revised SIP the last week of February
2004. MWAQC anticipates that the Severe Area SIP will be deemed
complete, and eventually approved. The challenges of meeting
the new eight-hour federal standard for ozone and the new particulate
matter (PM2.5) standard, which take effect in 2004, represent
possibly an order of magnitude more difficulty compared to that
of the current one-hour ozone standard. County staff who worked
with MWAQC on the regional planning effort are concerned that
this next phase will require assistance from the federal government.
Fairfax County participates actively
in the regional air quality planning efforts that are facilitated
through Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. These
efforts include the work of the Metropolitan Washington Air
Quality Committee and the Transportation Planning Board. In
addition, the county is committed to taking a leadership role
in promulgating air quality best practices that affect every
part of the county government to improve air quality consistent
with regional efforts.
Examples of such actions include: purchasing
41 lower-emissions vehicles in the county's vehicle fleet replacement;
continuing to promote commuting
alternatives to the single occupant automobile (e.g., teleworking,
transit, ridesharing, biking, and walking); and evaluating restrictions
on certain types of activities, where appropriate, to ensure
that the region will meet all applicable federal air quality
standards. Specific examples of these actions are described
in greater detail in Chapter 5 of the Findings
Document.
Prior to adopting the SIP, MWAQC asked
each local jurisdiction to consider committing to emission reduction
measures that could be included in the final severe area SIP
as control measures. County staff reviewed a variety of measures
and the county executive recommended that the Board of Supervisors
approve a letter indicating Fairfax County’s commitment
to implementing the control measures listed below for inclusion
in the Washington region severe area SIP. It should be noted
that the Board of Supervisors had previously supported the implementation
of some of these measures.
- Gas can replacements:
Portable gas cans account for a significant amount of emissions
escaping into the air every day. By using newer gas cans with
features such as shut off valves, harmful gasoline fumes can
be reduced by 75 percent. Fairfax County currently owns an
estimated 300 gas cans that can be replaced.
- Use of low Volatile
Organic Compound (VOC) paints: Besides reducing emissions
of ozone-forming compounds, low-VOC paints improve indoor
air quality by reducing eye or respiratory irritation caused
by exposure to paint fumes.
- Diesel retrofits:
The Board of Supervisors has already approved reprogramming
of the electronic controls on certain school buses and installation
of diesel oxidation catalysts on school buses and other diesel
powered county equipment. The board approved $2 million as
part of the FY 2005 Carryover Budget to begin the diesel retrofit
program. In addition, the board made available funds in the
amount of $1.5 million for the retrofit of the FAIRFAX CONNECTOR
(public transit) buses with the catalyzed diesel particulate
filters.
- Episodic ban on the
use of gasoline powered lawn and garden equipment: county
and contractor mowing and trimming operations will be deferred
on Ozone Action days (Code Red Days), except on specialized
turf areas at the golf courses and athletic field complexes.
The county will continue a replacement policy to purchase
low-emissions lawn and garden equipment that reduce ozone
precursor emissions.
- Episodic ban on
the use of VOC-containing paints: Deferring the use of VOC-containing
paints and coatings on Ozone Action days (Code Red Days) will
reduce VOC emissions (an ozone precursor) and overall ground-level
ozone formation on Code Red Days.
- Episodic ban on the
refueling of non-essential gasoline-powered cars and equipment:
The Board of Supervisors already encourages county agencies
to defer the refueling of their non-essential gasoline-powered
equipment and vehicles on a Code Red Day. In order to better
monitor this policy, the county executive is recommending
that a report of any refueling that did occur on a Code Red
Day be given to agency directors the next day. This would
enable follow-up action without restricting vital functions
that require refueling.
- Episodic ban on the
use of VOC-containing pesticides: Both the active and inert
ingredients of many pesticides are reactive in the formation
of ozone. Under this policy, county and contractor applications
of pesticides would be deferred on Code Red Ozone Action days.
- Telework on Code
Red days: The board already supports this measure, and the
county executive already encourages teleworking on Code Red
Days by encouraging approved teleworking employees to telework
even if they were not scheduled for that day. Currently, more
than 520 county employees telework two to four days per month.
An expansion plan is underway to raise that number to 1,000
by 2005. Telework expansion reflects the Fairfax County Board
of Supervisors' support of the regional goal set by the Metropolitan
Washington Council of Governments -- to reach a level of 20
percent of the eligible workforce teleworking one day per
week or more by 2005.
On Thursday, October 23, 2003, the county sponsored a Telework
Expo in the Government Center Atrium and Forum. The expo was
a way to inform more employees about the benefits and possibilities
of telework. In addition, the expo contained a compilation
of information and activities about the county's telework
effort. The expo also recognized the departments and employees
who have contributed to the county's telework effort.
- Participation as
a Clean Air Partner: Fairfax County government has been a
member of Clean Air (ENDZONE) Partners since 1998, and has
been proactive in efforts to inform county employees and residents
about air quality programs and ways to reduce air pollution.
The county has included information about air quality issues
on its Web site. The county has a notification program that
involves the posting of Ozone Action Day forecasts on Fairfax
County Government Cable Television Channel 16, and the county
Web site, as well as sending e-mail notifications to all county
employees. These messages include appropriate actions to take
to reduce contributions to ozone formation.
Some actions currently practiced by Fairfax County government
when a Code Red Day is forecast include the refueling of vehicles
after sunset; the restriction on the use of non-essential
motorized operating equipment; encouraging employees to telework,
and teleconference to participate in meetings off site; and
the offering of free trips on the Fairfax Connector and on
Metrobus, in cooperation with other local jurisdictions in
the region.
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, at the University Conference Center and
Inn at the University of Maryland's College Park campus, Fairfax
County was given an honorable mention by Clean Air Partners
in the category of "Outstanding Ozone Action Days Program."
The county was recognized for its efforts in establishing
voluntary actions to reduce ground-level ozone through an
Ozone Action Days plan, its efforts to encourage and facilitate
public awareness of air quality issues, and its efforts to
encourage employees to take personal voluntary actions.
- Best Practices in
Pesticide Application: The Park Authority fully supports this
measure and has already implemented an integrated pest management
(IPM) program at the golf facilities and athletic field complexes.
The Park Authority’s approach to select pesticide applications
is one of prevention rather than curative. This approach greatly
reduces the amount of product (VOC emissions) required to
keep turf healthy and allows the IPM program to be more effective.
- Alternative
Fueled Vehicle Purchases: The county already favors purchase
of hybrid-drive vehicles when appropriate for replacement
of vehicles being retired. In addition to the 41 hybrid vehicles
that have already been purchased, it is anticipated that the
county will purchase an additional 16 hybrid vehicles by May
2005.
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